Okaz/Saudi Gazette ARAR — The case of 69 Saudis incarcerated in Iraqi prisons with five of them sentenced to death is the most exigent issue between the Kingdom and Iraq, which have restored diplomatic relations recently. "The Saudi Embassy has officially started its functions from Baghdad. We are keen to consolidate ties with the Iraqi government and will be dealing directly with a number of official bodies including the ministries of foreign affairs, justice and interior," said Thamir Al-Sabhan, the Kingdom's new ambassador in Baghdad. Bilateral relations have been severed since 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait but were resumed last month. The ambassador said the issue of Saudi prisoners in Iraq is their top priority and they have started working on the issue immediately. On arrival in Baghdad, the ambassador called for respecting the human rights of all prisoners and said they will close this file in the coming few days. The ambassador said they are currently studying the files and profiles of a number of lawyers and law firms to assign them to represent the Saudi prisoners before Iraqi courts. "We have collected detailed data of the prisoners including their names and the charges against them ahead of assigning lawyers for them," he said. The 69 Saudi prisoners are distributed in various prisons, including the notorious Al-Nassiriyah prison where Shitte militias have threatened to kill the Saudi prisoners. The ambassador played down the threats and said they are directly dealing with the Iraqi government, which is keen on maintaining good ties with the Kingdom. According to a source in the Iraqi Justice Ministry, the execution of 100 Iraqi Sunnis, including two Saudis, has already started at the Al-Rasafat prison. The two Saudis are Abdullah Bin Azzam Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Bin Saydat Al-Shingiti. He said one of the six prisoners, who were put in solitary confinement, was hanged but the execution of the other five has been suspended. The source also said that the death sentences on four of the prisoners have been commuted. He said 15 Saudis are currently under trial in Iraq for various crimes, 24 others face charges of illegally entering the country and 21 are under Article 194 of the Iraqi Civil Law. Nine Saudis and a Chadian who was born in the Kingdom have returned to the Kingdom after serving their jail terms. Nasser Al-Ruwaili, who has been in prison in Iraq since 1995, is the longest serving prisoner while Jaber Bin Rashid Al-Mubarak, who is in is early 20s, is the youngest of them.
